How do I get a € Euro bank account?

heathrow

Yes - Payments Account Directive.

See here:


https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/payment-accounts-directive

eDicky

heathrow wrote: »

Yes - Payments Account Directive.

See here:

https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/payment-accounts-directive

"The provisions on basic bank accounts ensure all consumers can access basic banking services throughout the EU, regardless of their nationality or place of residence."

Nice idea. But I would like to know if any UK citizen succeeds in walking into the nearest bank branch in a eurozone country (apart from RoI) and opening a basic account without having residence in that country.

Marchitiello

eDicky wrote: »

"The provisions on basic bank accounts ensure all consumers can access basic banking services throughout the EU, regardless of their nationality or place of residence."

Nice idea. But I would like to know if any UK citizen succeeds in walking into the nearest bank branch in a eurozone country (apart from RoI) and opening a basic account without having residence in that country.

Plenty of example I know of in Spain, France, Germany and Italy. Most are basic accounts but few I know of are fully fledged accounts .

colsten

heathrow wrote: »

Yes - Payments Account Directive.

See here:


https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/payment-accounts-directive

Interesting - I knew about the PAD but wasn't aware you didn't need to actually be a resident in the country you apply for / hold the account in.

Should be interesting to see what the Brexit madness does to that.

dougz_2

glider3560 wrote: »

Note that if you open an account in the Irish Republic, there is a €2.50 stamp duty (i.e. tax) on cards used in either ATMs or at point of sale. This increases to €5.00 if you use both ATMs and point of sale.

Apparently that annual tax was abolished in their 2016 budget. You now only get charged 0.12 EUR per ATM withdrawal.

The bank itself may charge though eg. I see the KBC account referenced above has a 6 EUR quarterly fee unless youre over 60.

If anyone comes across any other account that can be opened without visiting Ireland, but has no (or little) standing fee, please post.

heathrow

The €0.12 per transaction is capped at €2.50 per after 20 transactions.




Budget €5.00 per year Government tax.

glider3560

heathrow wrote: »

KBC let you apply by post:

https://www.kbc.ie/Our-Products/KBC-Current-Account/Current-Account

https://www.kbc.ie/KBC/media/Current-Account-PDFs/EUCurrentAccountApp.PDF

Do you know if the postal application form can be used for the basic current account? There appears to be no place on the form to choose the account type.

heathrow

I don;t think they do one.




You need €2,000 minimum balance to avoid monthly and ATM fees.

glider3560

heathrow wrote: »

I don;t think they do one.




You need €2,000 minimum balance to avoid monthly and ATM fees.

Yes, they do:
https://www.kbc.ie/Our-Products/KBC-Current-Account/Current-Account/Basic

My understanding is that all banks in RoI are required to offer a basic bank account. They can upgrade it to a standard one if you pay in more than the minimum wage (approx. €19,000 per year).

heathrow

Of course with this one, application has to be in branch - or "hub".


KBC is growing its hub network steadily.




Note that they dont' take cash at branches. ...